Silicon Valley Legend is a prized descriptor, and few fit the term as well as Guy Kawasaki. A renowned author, marketing specialist, angel investor, and tech evangelist, Kawasaki has a storied career in the Valley - including a major role at Apple marketing Macintosh computers in the early 1980s. Today, Kawasaki is the chief evangelist for Canva, the Australian graphic design platform, and the host of his podcast and passion project, Remarkable People, speaking to the likes of Jane Goodall, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Marc Benioff and more. In this special episode of the Entrepreneur Podcast, Kawasak ..read more

For Rick Cytrynbaum, the entrepreneur life can feel like a game of snakes and ladders. Yet rolling the dice, doesn’t have to be a game of chance. Through years of hard work and hustle, Cytrynbaum has built a diverse and innovative career in the fashion space, where he has developed footwear for New Balance, co-founded House of Harlow 1960 with Nicole Richie, worked with celebrities like Kanye West and Heidi Klum, and owned multiple brands like Modern Vintage, Champion, and Kendall & Kylie. He was also an influential player in the rise of the direct-to-consumer model that brought a wide ran ..read more

“The reward for taking out Bose, Panasonic, and Samsung was getting to play against Amazon, Google and Apple.” That’s a common joke at Patrick Spence’s Santa Barbara-based audio giant, Sonos; which is chiefly responsible for the rise of the smart speaker. An HBA ’98 grad, Spence joined the company in 2012 and took over as CEO, five years later. But Sonos wasn’t Spence’s first rodeo in the fast-moving world of consumer electronics. For 14 years, Spence was an integral part of RIM/BlackBerry, serving a number of roles before ultimately becoming the Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketi ..read more

Jake Karls, BA’16, exudes the enthusiasm that one would expect of an entrepreneur. But the co-founder of Mid-Day Squares is not playing a part. He is a true believer that their chocolate bar will become the modern-day Hershey’s bar. After the failure of his clothing brand, Karls was invited to join Mid-Day Squares by his sister and brother-in-law, Lezlie Karls and Nick Saltarelli; to bring his enthusiasm to the fore of a brand with a big vision. From instituting weekly therapy sessions to showcasing their entire journey (the good, the bad and the ugly) on social media, Karls and his co-founder ..read more

This Summer, the Entrepreneur Podcast is back! Featuring the likes of Jake Karl of Mid-Day Squares, the Montreal-based chocolate company that’s taking the world by storm, Patrick Spence from the innovative audio giant Sonos, and Rick Cytrynbaum, a true trailblazer in the direct-to-consumer fashion industry. Follow The Entrepreneur Podcast on your favourite podcast player or visit entrepreneurship.uwo.ca/podcast for our season kick-off on August 3, 2022 ..read more

The path of an entrepreneur is rarely a straight line, but some paths are more unconventional than others. Since the age of 15, Michelle Kwok was working in research labs. When she joined Western University to pursue a degree in Medical Science, everything seemed set for a future Dr Kwok. But then she started to wonder… and then wander… soon she was helping companies with social media marketing, working with founders on their startups, and even co-founded one that was acquired in 2021. Today, it’s come full circle with Kwok working with biotechnology startups at San Francisco-based accelerator ..read more

From East Side Marios, Fionn MacCool's and Bier Markt to Swiss Chalet, and The Keg, millions of Canadians have celebrated their special moments in John Rothschild’s world. Graduating as one of the youngest MBA students in 1983, John Rothschild didn’t take the obvious entrepreneurial path. He built his career as an accountant, and then an investment banker who soon discovered how much he enjoyed working with small owner-operator businesses. From there, it was a small step to becoming an owner-operator himself, as the founder of Prime Restaurants. In this episode, long-time friend and ally of en ..read more

This can often feel like a throwaway line to make something seem more important than it really is. But Jocelyn Mackie, HBA ’03, is a believer.   In fact, she lives it every day as the Co-CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, an innovation platform that has supported over 1300 innovations in 90 countries. Joining the Entrepreneur Podcast, Mackie shares many of their great success stories and breaks down the nonprofit’s selection process, and funding model for innovative ideas.   Join Eric Janssen on this important episode and discover Mackie’s personal journey, and how Grand Challenges Cana ..read more

“Those who can’t do, teach.” If you enjoy dispelling popular myths, this episode is for you. MBA ’64 Bob Nourse was in his element when teaching in the classroom. After completing his doctorate at Harvard, Nourse began a nine-year teaching career at Ivey. But in 1976 that world was upended when a private equity firm came knocking for his expertise to turn around some struggling companies. From airlines and soft drinks to building water slides, Nourse eventually found a New Orleans-based mail-order business called the Bombay Company, which he grew to over 400 stores across Canada and United Sta ..read more

The demand for sustainable products has never been greater – and perhaps, never been more necessary. From climate change to the creation of vast trash islands, more and more consumers are realizing that real change is needed to protect and preserve our environment. For Jayme Jenkins, HBA ’07, and Jessica Stevenson, HBA ’07, real change wasn’t just about making a donation or changing their buying habits. Leaving their established careers, Jenkins and Stevenson are reimagining the beauty industry with Everist, which provides concentrated forms of traditional hair and body care products, reducing ..read more